OBJECTIVES: To compare the incidence of pulmonary complications and hospital resource utilisation in patients treated with continuous rotation therapy versus manual turning in a traditional hospital bed. DESIGN: Prospective, randomised clinical trial. SETTING: Surgical intensive care unit of a large, tertiary care, urban hospital. PATIENTS: One-hundred-and-thirty-seven consecutive injured patients admitted to the Surgical Intensive Care Unit were prospectively randomised to receive either the Rotorest Kinetic Treatment Table or a traditional hospital bed. One hundred of these patients met the study criteria and are the basis of this report. METHODS: The patients' medical records were reviewed in a prospective manner to determine the frequency and severity of pulmonary complications and resource utilisation in the two patient groups. MAIN RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the minimum, average, or maximum pO2, pCO2, PEEP, IMV rate, or pre-extubation blood gases during the first seven days of the study. Fewer cardiac output measurements, arterial blood gas measurements, chest x-rays, respiratory therapies, hours intubated, days in the ICU, days in the step-down unit, days in the hospital, and lower ICU charges, respiratory care charges, and total hospital charges were utilised in the patients treated with the kinetic bed. The incidence of pulmonary event complications and process complications was lower in the group of patients treated on the Rotorest bed.

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